Bulletin of the Veteran Car Club of South Australia,

Inc. www.vccsa.org.au Vol. 7, No. 8 – April 2013

Chairman: Howard Filtness 8272 0594 Treasurer: Tim Rettig 8338 2590 Secretary: David Chantrell 8345 0665 Rallymaster: Phil Keane 8277 2468 Committee: Peter Allen 8353 3438 Neil Francis 8373 4992 Terry Parker 8331 3445 Public Officer Dudley Pinnock 8379 2441 Address for Correspondence: P.O.Box 193, Unley Business Centre, Unley 5061 Email: [email protected] Website: www.vccsa.org.au Bulletin editor : Tony Beaven 0407 716 162 [email protected]

Visit to Kapara Nursing Home (Report last month)

Meetings The Club holds informal gatherings at 8pm on the perhaps the rest of his vast collection of Veteran first Wednesday of each month, except January, at cars and parts. the Colonel Light Gardens RSL, enter off Dorset Wednesday 1 st May. Anecdotes, photos and tall Ave. Assemble at 7.30 for a pre-meeting chat. The stories from what is promising to be a terrific only formal club meeting is the Annual General weekend rally based at Nurioopta. Any input and Meeting, held on the first Wednesday in July each photos from participants will be more than year. welcome. Wednesday 3 rd April. We have been promised a Wednesday 5 th June. Rob Elliott will be showing very interesting evening of entertainment by pictures and telling us about the wonderful car Julian McNeil talking about his Argyll and museums that he has visited in the U.S.. Wednesday 4 th July. Will be our AGM. Upcoming events

Friday 12 th to Sunday 14 th Our annual weekend rally, to be held in and around Nuriootpa, all cabins in April 2013 the caravan park on hold for us, just mention the Veteran Car Club of SA, be quick, they are filling fast. Get your rally entries in now please. Routes are for all veteran vehicles. So don’t hesitate, enter that veteran car or motor cycle! The more the merrier!!!

Sunday 12 th May A run to the Southern Vales. Meet in the car park at Coles Blackwood 9.30am for a 10am start. More information next month.

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From the Chairman I feared it might come back to bite me, and it did. Last month I made mention in my report that, being naturally clumsy, I had broken my foot just prior to our Annual Rally, and this year would try to avoid missing the rally again. It never pays to tempt fate, and this year Dianne has ended up with a broken leg, but if all goes well, we shall be on the Barossa Rally in Nigel the Napier to take part in the fun. It seems a moonboot will be our fashion accessory once again, albeit on another foot. As I write this, the closing date for receiving rally entries has arrived, and a very healthy list of entrants it is. We still have many interstate guests joining us, and I am confident our Club will make them very welcome. The Rally Committee have again excelled themselves, and the itinerary is not only very different to last years but should give us a glimpse of parts of this lovely wine/tourist region that even some of the locals haven’t seen. This coming Wednesday, we look forward to learning a little more about one of the Club cars and the Company that built it. Julian McNeil has offered to entertain us with a presentation about his Argyll, another of the more rare cars in our Club register, and the product of a Glasgow company. It should be a very interesting and enlightening evening. Elsewhere in this issue, there will be a report from our Secretary. I would ask each of you to read it and give it a great deal of consideration. Our Rally Secretary Dianne will also have a report, the last before the big event. At this stage all we can hope for is fine weather and a trouble-free run. Our unofficial Club photographer Tony Beaven will have facilities set up in his cabin to download photographs from cameras, which could end up being used for our May Club presentation or in our magazine. If you take a picture that shows something of interest that you would like to share with other rally-goers, I’m sure he would be delighted to accept it whilst still at the event. I look forward to seeing you at the rally.

Happy Veteran Motoring, Howard

From the Secretary Historic Registration Update The Department of Planning, Transport & Infrastructure are now clamping down tightly on our “Historic Registration” Scheme assuring us it is run by the rules. The VCCSA is fine as we have been operating correctly since the inception of the club. New issuing certificates have been received for our four Issuing Officers. Just as a reminder in case you have forgotten, these are Peter Allen, Howard Filtness, Ray Mossop and Julian McNeil. Please do not hesitate to see any of these four members to answer your questions or queries regarding the scheme. It goes without saying to remember to fill in you Log Book every time you take your historically registered vehicle on the road. Statutory Declarations are now mandatory for any renewal with the club and are readily available from either the Federation website or the VCCSA. AVCCA Update As mentioned a while ago the VCCSA committee assessed our involvement with the 2014 National 1 & 2 Cylinder Rally to be held at Robe. Although the VCCSA has previously been denied membership to the AVCCA, a while ago we decided that our veteran vehicles are far more important than the politics; the VCCSA has jumped on board being co-organisers. However, your committee is still perusing membership to the AVCCA and a letter was sent this month to the current President Mr John Wood once again outlining our desire. On behalf of our members your committee continues to seek membership for 2 reasons. Firstly as the premier veteran vehicle club in SA we would like to be included in all events. Secondly, and possibly more importantly for our members, is to seek inclusion of all non-AVCCA veteran vehicles in the register. We see this as a huge step forward for owners of all veteran vehicles Australia wide and can only be a good thing for the movement. We will wait and see the reply to our letter.

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Future of the “Bay to Birdwood” Run The committee has sent a letter to the committee with our thoughts on this request. As mentioned last month we are not privy to the many commercial, marketing and government agreements and contracts that seem to be in place, but the VCCSA has at least outlined a 3 run proposal that we feel could work. Our suggestion is that the B2B be broken into 3 yearly runs. The first is strictly for veteran and vintage vehicles only, being a smaller group of probably around 120 cars or so, they could easily negotiate the current Chain of Ponds route and wouldn’t require special road closures. The second run for 1931-1955 vehicles and the third run is the “Bay to Birdwood Classic”. The second and third runs can be organised exactly like the profitable “Classic” run and use the SE Freeway as this seems to be the current direction. The benefit of our proposal is that the veteran and vintage vehicles with similar performance and horsepower would be segregated into our own run and we have no doubt we would cope easily with our own group. As with the AVCCA letter, we can only wait and see, and hope that our suggestions are taken on board and hopefully implemented in some measure. Position of VCCSA Secretary I formally notified the committee at our last meeting that I will not be re-standing for of role of Secretary giving the committee 3 months to seek a replacement. The club is in great shape with about 115 members, and now needs another person to step forward and take on a role within the organising of the club. Please give this some thought and do not think that “somebody” else will do it. If anybody has any thoughts for a volunteer or any questions about the role please do not hesitate to come and see me. Kind Regards, David Chantrell

Rally Secretary’s Report At the time of going to press, we have 45 entries for the Barossa Rally. Of these, we have 9 from interstate – 3 from Victoria, 3 from New South Wales, 2 from Queensland and 1 from Western Australia. We nearly had an entry from Tasmania, but their vehicle failed in Canberra, and they have returned home. We also have 3 other interstate entries, all from Victoria and all Club members. We also have 2 other South Australian non-Club members coming, so it looks like being a good rally and an interesting mix of vehicles. We are also very lucky to have our own Chris Whittall acting as “tail-end Charlie” in his back-up mobile garage. Thank you Chris. The Club really appreciates your input. Now about the broken leg. We arrived in Canberra on the Saturday and had a nice dinner with friends from Tasmania, then saw some of the celebrations happening around Canberra for their 100 th birthday. We went to the welcome function on the Sunday night and met up with friends old and new – a very pleasant evening. On day 1, the Monday, we set off for the display day at the National Museum. After travelling 1.5km, a “comedy” of errors occurred. We were waved down an unmarked road by a group of other entrants who had overshot the road, only to find it was the off-ramp for a freeway, not the unmarked road on our directions. So we were going the wrong way downhill onto the freeway. Mercifully there was no traffic at the time and we were able to use the incredibly large turning circle of the Phoenix and get into the emergency lane of the freeway, and roll backwards downhill slowly to manoeuvre our way back to go up the off-ramp. I went to get out of the car to make it easier without my weight, but with our helmets on, Howard didn’t hear me tell him, as he was looking over his shoulder, then he reversed when I had one foot in and one foot out. I ended up on the road on my head (thank goodness for the motorcycle helmet) but with a broken leg! We must now get 2-way radios for the helmets. So there was our rally ended. I had 2 days of hospitals and orthopaedic surgeons. I have an undisplaced fracture of the fibula near the ankle, with no surgery required, but will be in a moonboot for 8 weeks. Unfortunately, after spending 2 days driving home (not allowed to fly because of the swelling) we both picked up a bad cold from the doctors surgery waiting room, so it has been a slow couple of weeks. However, onwards and upwards, and by the time the Barossa Rally arrives I should be a bit fitter, although still in the moonboot. We look forward to seeing you there, Dianne

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Wanted For Sale 1 Waymaster 810 x 90 tyre/tube Rob Heyen from Nebraska $400 special (who owns Ford models ’N’ Brian Forth and ‘K’) is asking for any Phone 08 82514213 suggestions where he can Mobile 0409 514 213 find adjustment instructions or a manual for this Buffalo Wanted carburettor, advert attached. Wire wheel for a 1924 Maxwell car. The wheel It is fitted to the 6 cylinder takes a 500-23 tyre. Ford model ‘K’. If you have Rob [email protected] or 0417885154 any information please see David Chantrell for Rob’s details. For sale New 6V electric fuel pump. Goss pump bought For sale last October and still in the box. Cost $145. Will Lucas GA4 maggie, sell for $95. shed clearing continues. Rob [email protected] or 0417885154. Overhauled years ago as spare for Bullnose Morris, never used. For sale Can be yours for $400, DIVORCE- may be the outcome if you keep the price of an overhaul. reading. Vintage Bentley 3 litre or Vauxhall 30-98 Terry Parker 08 83313445 available. Recent engine rebuild on the Bentley, ground up restoration of the Vauxhall. Both are Wanted first class examples and one must go, so you have 1922 Harley Davidson motor complete magneto a choice. Either way, you will be converting dull, or generator model or a year close to 1922. uninteresting cash into one of the prize vintage 1922 rear mud guard to suit, one from any model. cars. See Terry Parker about the cars, Peter Allen 48cm belt rim to suit a 1923 Elliott motorcycle about the divorce. 148cc. Brian Forth

Time for a laugh Little Firefighter A Firefighter was working on the tender outside the Fire Station, when he noticed a little girl nearby in a little red wagon with little ladders hung off the sides and a garden hose tightly coiled in the middle. The girl was wearing a firefighters helmet. The wagon was being pulled by her dog and her cat. The firefighter walked over to take a closer look. 'That sure is a nice fire truck,' the firefighter said with admiration. 'Thanks' the girl replied. The fire fighter looked a little closer. The girl had tied the wagon to her dog's collar and to the cat's testicles. 'Little partner,' the Firefighter said, 'I don't want to tell you how to run your rig, but if you were to tie that rope around the cat's collar, I think you could go faster.' The little girl replied thoughtfully, 'You're probably right, but then I wouldn't have a siren'.

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Brotherhood of the international “Fanny” It is strangely comforting to find out that Andy and I are not the only people in the world whose sanity could be called into question after returning to the road the horrifyingly impractical Phanomobil. Over the past few years we have slowly become aware of several other people who also pilot these weird machines but the chances of us all getting together are remote as these strange people are in Germany, the UK and Norway. We have recently been in contact with the latest person brave enough to actually want to be part of this odd “Brotherhood” – Kim Leachman who lives in Holdenhurst Village in Bournemouth in Dorset. Kim has just picked up a “semi-restored” 1910 Phanomobil from a deceased estate and is now determined (and perversely excited by the prospect) to get his car on the road as soon as possible. We are in regular contact and we have sent him numerous detail jpegs of “Fanny” to help him work out which bits in the boxes accompanying his find fit where! Through another of our VCCSA members, Andrew Howe-Davies, I am attempting to get Kim in contact with his “local” Phanomobil expert to aid him in his restoration. Andrew, as the owner of another example of Teutonic 3-wheel engineering - a Cyklon - is an honorary member of the “Brotherhood” and as such displays many of the same strange personality traits….enough said. It just goes to show how many masochists there are still left in the civilised world.

John Hancock and Andrew Applebee

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Waco Mishap I got this letter and photos some years ago about my Waco. It is lucky that the event occurred before they got over tiger country and that they had the beach nearby. If they were at 10,000 feet it is a bit surprising, but in the circumstance, it was a good thing they were. Also they were lucky the prop and extras hanging on to it didn't hit the wings or the outcome could have been much different. Back then, the Waco had a wooden prop. Now it has a heavy constant speed one, so it doesn't bear thinking about what would happen if it happened now. A visit to the laundry would be my first priority. John Treloar

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The Kennet and Avon From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Continued from last issue On the eastern outskirts of Bath a toll bridge near the George Inn links Bathampton to Batheaston, on the north bank of the canal. When the A46 Bathampton by-pass was built, the 22-acre (8.9 ha) Bathampton Meadow was created to provide additional flood relief. The resultant wet meadows and oxbow lake have proved attractive to a number of migrants; wading birds such as dunlin, ringed and little ringed plover, and green and common sandpiper are frequent visitors in spring and autumn. Sand Martin and kingsfisher have been seen regularly by the lake, and other migrants have included yellow wagtail, whinchat and hobby. The canal turns south into a valley between Bathampton Wood and Hill which includes Brown’s Folley a 99-acre (40 ha) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest. In the Avon Valley to the east of Bath the classic geographical example of a valley with all four forms of ground transport is found: road, rail, river, canal. The canal passes the remains of a loading dock, once used for Bathe Stone from the quarries on Bathampton Down, which was carried down a straight track to the canal over the Dry Arch rock bridge (demolished in 1958 to allow double-decker buses to use the A36). Next, the canal passes the waterwheel-powered Claverton Pumping Station, which pumped water from the River Avon into the canal. The building was completed in 1810 and the pump was working by 1813. On the eastern bank Warleigh Wood and Inwood are ash-wych elm and dry ash-maple woodland, which comes right down to the canal. The canal then crosses over the river and the Wessex Main Line railway at the , past Wood, before recrossing the river and railway at the Aqueduct. At the western end of the Dundas Aqueduct it is joined by the remains of the Coal Canal, a short stretch of which has been restored to create the Brassknocker Basin. Excavations of the old stop showed that it was originally a broad 14-foot (4m) lock that at some point was narrowed to 7 feet (2m) by moving the lock wall. The was built around 1800 from basins at Paulton and Timsbury, giving access to from the , which at its peak contained Dundas Aqueduct, built in 1805, lies between 80 collieries. Bradford on Avon and Bath. Here the canal crosses high above the River Avon and the railway line After the the canal passes through Barton Farm (the narrowing is the aqueduct). Country Park, past Gripwood Quarry and a 14th-century Grade II* listed tithe barn, 180 feet (55m) long and 30 feet (9m) wide, on its way into Bradford on Avon. The first sod for the was turned in Bradford on Avon in 1794, and soon there were wharves above and below Bradford Lock. Further east, an aqueduct carries the canal over the River Biss. There are locks at and Seend, where water flows into the canal from the Summerham Brook, otherwise known as the Seend Feeder. In the village of Semington the Wilts & Berks Canal joined the canal, linking the Kennet and Avon to the at Abingdon. The North Wilts Canal merged with it to become a branch to the Thames and Severn Canal at Latton near Cricklade. The 52-mile (84 km) canal was opened in 1810, but abandoned in 1914 – a fate hastened by the collapse of Stanley Aqueduct in 1901. In 1977 the Wilts & Berks Canal Amenity Group was formed with the aim of fully restoring the canal to re- connect the Kennet and Avon to the upper reaches of the Thames. , at , provides an insight into the engineering needed to build and maintain the canal. The main flight of 16 locks, which take 5–6 hours to navigate in a boat, is part of a longer series of 29 locks built in three groups: seven at Foxhangers, sixteen at Caen Hill, and six at the town end of the flight. The total rise is 237 feet (72m) in 2 miles (3.2 km) or a 1 in 30 gradient. The locks were the last part of the 87-mile (140 km) route of the canal to be completed. The steepness of the terrain meant that there was no space to use the normal arrangement of water pounds between the locks. As a result the 16 locks utilise unusually large side ponds to store the water needed for their operation. Because a large volume of water is needed a back pump was installed at Foxhangers in 1996, capable of returning 7 million imperial gallons (32 million litres) of water per day to the top of the flight, equivalent to one lockful every 11 minutes. While the locks were under construction in the early 19th century a tramroad provided a link between Foxhangers

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at the bottom of the flight and Devizes at the top, the remains of which can be seen in the towpath arches in the road bridges over the canal. From 1829 until 1843 the flight, which includes the narrowest lock on the canal, Lock 41, was illuminated by gas lights. At the top of the flight is Devizes Wharf, home to the Kennet & Avon Canal Museum, which has a range of exhibits on the conception, design, usage, and eventual commercial decline of the Kennet and Avon Canal, as well as its subsequent restoration. It is operated by the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust, which has its headquarters and a shop within the Canal Centre. The Wharf Theatre is in an old warehouse on the same site. Devizes wharf is the starting point for the Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Marathon, which has been held every year since 1948.

Devizes to Newbury Heading east from Devizes the canal passes through the countryside and a series of locks and swing bridges before another flight of locks at Crofton. At Honeystreet is the remains of a wharf that was the home of boat builders Robbins, Lane and Pinnegar, which served as the boat building headquarters of the Canal Company. They built many of the boats used on the of southern before closing in about 1950. Next to the wharf is the Barge Inn, a substantial public house once known as the George Inn. It was roughly half-way along the canal and served as a bakehouse, slaughterhouse, and shop for provisions for those living and working on the canal. The building was destroyed by fire in 1858 and rebuilt within six months. It was built just within the parish boundary of Stanton St Bernard to "serve the Honey Street wharf in Alton parish, which refused to allow drinking establishments". Jones's Mill is a 29-acre (12ha) area of fen vegetation, scrub, and woodland lying along the headwaters of the Salisbury Avon northeast of Pewsey. It has been designated a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest because it is "the best known example of a calcareous valley mire in Wiltshire". The four locks at Wootton Rivers mark the end of the climb from the Avon. Between Wootton Top Lock and Crofton is the summit pound of the canal at 450 feet (140m) above sea level, stretching for about 2 miles (3.2km) and including the 502-yard (459m) long . The tunnel is named after the local land owner, Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury (1729–1814), who refused to allow a deep cutting through his property and insisted on a tunnel. The tunnel has red brick portals, capped with , each with a decorative stone plaque of Pennant Limestone. The tunnel was begun in 1806 and finished in 1809. It is lined with English bond brickwork and has a wide bore to cope with the Newbury barges used on the canal. There is no towpath through the tunnel, therefore walkers and cyclists must walk across the top of the hill. When canal boats were pulled by horses the boatmen had to haul their barges through the tunnel by hand, pulling on chains that ran along the inside walls. Bruce Tunnel eastern portal at the canal summit The Crofton Locks flight marks the start of the descent from the summit to the Thames; the nine locks have a total rise/fall of 61 feet (19m). When the canal was built there were no reliable water sources available to fill the summit by normal gravitational means. A number of usable springs were found adjacent to the canal route about one mile (2km) east of the summit pound, and about 40 feet (12m) below it, and arrangements were made for them to feed the pound below lock 60 at Crofton. Some years later the Reservoir was created to enhance the supply to this pound using the springs and the . Water is pumped to the summit at the western end of the locks, from Wilton Water, by the restored . The original steam-powered pumping station is preserved and contains one of the oldest operational Watt-style beam engines in the world, dating from 1812. The steam engines still pump water on selected weekends, but for day-to-day operation electric pumps are used, automatically controlled by the water level in the summit pound. Near Crofton are and the remains of a railway bridge that carried the Midland and South Western Junction Railway over the canal. Mill Bridge at is unusual in being a skew arch; on its completion in 1796 it was the first of its kind. From there to the canal follows the valley of the River Dun through Freeman's Marsh, which consists of unimproved meadows, marsh, and reedbed. It is an important site for overwintering, migratory and breeding birds, and supports many varieties of flora

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scarce in Southern England. It was cited by English Nature in 1986, and forms part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There are plans to construct a marina and hotel complex adjacent to the site, but the potential environmental impacts (particularly to water voles) of such a development on Freeman's Marsh have led to local opposition. To the north of the canal are seven separate small areas, four in the Kennet Valley and three in the Lambourn Valley, which make up the Kennet and Lambourn Floodplain SSSI. Occupying a total of 57 acres (23 ha), it supports particularly large populations of Desmoulin's whorl snail. There are several locks and bridges in Hungerford, including one which carries the A338. Hungerford Marsh Lock is unique on the Kennet and Avon Canal in that it has a swing bridge directly over the centre of the lock that must be opened before the lock may be used. In the area around the lock, called Hungerford Marsh Nature Reserve, more than 120 bird species have been recorded. Between Kintbury Lock and Newbury, passing to the north of Hamstead Marshall, the canal is very close to the , which flows into the canal via several channels. The canal passes through an area known as the Kennet Valley Alderwoods, the largest remaining fragments of damp, ash-alder woodland in the River Kennet floodplain. The SSSI includes two woods the Wilderness and part of Ryott's Plantation which are important because they support a very great diversity of plants associated with this woodland type, dominated by Alder ( Alnus glutinosa ); though Ash ( Fraxinus excelsior ) is abundant in places and there is occasional Oak ( Quercus robur ) and Wych Elm ( Ulmus glabra ). In addition to the wide range of higher The canal passing through "The Wilderness" plants the woods support a diverse bryophyte flora including the uncommon epiphytes Radula complanata , Zygodon viridissimus and Orthotrichum affine . Nearby is Irish Hill Copse. This site of coppiced ancient woodland includes an extensive area of calcareous ash/wych elm coppice on the hill sides, merging into wet ash/maple and acid oak/ash/hazel woodland with aspen, on the higher parts of the site. The lower slopes are dominated by Dog's Mercury ( Mercurialis perennis ), with abundant Herb Paris ( Paris quadrifolia ), Toothwort ( Lathraea squamaria ), Solomon's seal ( Polygonatum multiflorum ), Twayblade and Early Purple Orchids ( Listera ovata ) and Orchis mascula and, locally, Wild Daffodil ( Narcissus pseudonarcissus ). A wooden bridge was built close to in 1726, replaced in stone between 1769 and 1772 by James Clarke, and now known as the Town Bridge or Water Bridge. As there is no tow path, a line to haul the barge had to be floated under the bridge and then re-attached to the horse where the tow path resumed. to be continued

2013 Rally Itinerary

Friday 12 th April

10 am Depart the Highbury Hotel for Nuriootpa. Midday Meet at Lyndoch for lunch (self catered). 1 pm Depart Lyndoch for Nuriootpa. 2 pm Meet at the Nuriootpa School Oval for the primary school children’s display. 6 pm Bar open at the Nuriootpa Football Clubrooms for drinks & dinner. 6.30 pm Dinner being served!!!

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Saturday 13 th April

8 am Breakfast being served from 8-9am at the Nuriootpa Football Clubrooms. 9.30 am Depart for historic Kapunda. 10.30 am Kapunda Museum and town visit. Midday Lunch being served at Dutton Park. 1.30 pm Depart for Angaston & the Historic Machinery Society museum in the ‘Old Mill’ building. 2.30 pm Afternoon tea being served at the Angaston Railway Station Afternoon to yourselves; perhaps shopping or a winery or two? 6 pm Dusk street parade meeting at the “Steam Train” near the Tolley roundabout. 6.30 pm Bar open at the Nuriootpa Football Clubrooms for drinks & dinner. 7 pm Dinner being served!!!

Sunday 14 th April

8 am Free VCCSA Club Breakfast being served from 8-9am at the Caravan Park Camp Kitchen. 10 am Depart for Whistler’s Winery Complex. 11 am Morning tea being served.

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